Empowering Churches in their Communities

One-on-One with Peter Greer and Chris Horst on ‘Rooting for Rivals’

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As churches and nonprofits, we can accomplish far more together than we ever could alone.

Ed: What inspired you to write Rooting for Rivals?

Peter and Chris: A few years ago, a foundation executive in Tennessee shared with us that in just one year, three different agencies approached him for funding to translate the Bible into the same language for the same people group. The impact was going to be a third of what it could have been if each organization had focused on a different language!

This type of redundancy and lack of cooperation is widespread in our churches, charities, and nonprofits. Rather than seeing fellow organizations as partners in the kingdom, we’re prone to see them as our competitors.

We long to see a different posture and approach, where followers of Christ seek first the kingdom of God. We wrote Rooting for Rivals to understand what inhibits collaboration and more importantly, to celebrate examples of organizations that model outrageous generosity and openhandedness. Ultimately, we want to collectively pursue a calling higher than any one organization’s agenda.

Ed: What are the hallmarks of openhanded, generous leaders?

Peter and Chris: Over the past two years, we have had the opportunity to talk with countless individuals and organizations modeling a rooting-for-rivals approach. Though their schedules were full, they always seemed to make time to listen fully, invest deeply, and share openly. It was as if they had a calling and passion that superseded their organization—that helping us was in some way part of their mission.

At the core, what set these generous, openhanded leaders apart was how they answered these two questions:

First, do we believe in a world of scarcity or abundance? If we believe in a world of scarcity, we see someone else’s success as less for us. But …